urbanSTL

Doug wrote:Kickin' rad folks. The suburbanization and cookie cutter sterilization of St. Louis City continues. I bet this will draw suburbanites to the City in droves. They don't have these unique, quality establishments.



Great plan for our City. I hope this innovation continues.

I like the tenant line up. Like Schnucks. Like Starbucks. Like Bread CO. Like Lowes. And I am definitely not a surburbanite but I need coffee, my bacon turkey bravo and reasonable grocery shopping.

And no more drives to South County for office supplies.

Don't get me wrong, I am definately excited about the generic tenants, but the parking lot is truly the icing on the cake.

They may have those stores in your part of the of the city but for me South County is usually a quicker drive.

^ I live just west of Interstate 55 and north of Carondelet Park, so this will bring some establishments that I like (Qdoba, Starbucks, BreadCo) much closer to home.



Like you, I find the South County locations more convenient, but I try to keep as much of my money in the city proper as possible.



I don't like Loughborough Commons' design any better than most of you here, but since Schnucks and Lowe's are already there, the horse responsible for the sh*tty design is already out of the barn. Might as well try to make a little lemonade with such an enormous lemon.



The OfficeMax and Great Clips announcements are a bit peculiar. There's already an OfficeMax in that other Southside cluster***k known as Southtown Center, which must be all of two years old by now. Is there that much demand for office supplies in south St. Louis, or is the Southtown store already functionally obsolete? As for Great Clips, they already have a location at Holly Hills and Gravois avenues (two miles west) and on Bayless Avenue west of I-55 (two miles south). Go figure...

Any news on when the first sores open? Qdoba has had their sign

up for a week now. Will there be a Bread Co. there? I've heard

conflicting views on that.

Ruby Tuesday has backed out of the development for now. This devolpment is a crap hole

Yeah, I'm in there at least 3 times a week. Its a horrible design; the new part facing Loughborough is an awkward turn just after the entrance on a big hill. I can see it being a problem getting out of there. Its funny how every shopping center just seems to be a duplicate of all the others, the same chain stores, blah blah blah. I love Lowes and all but just the amount of parking alone for this place is ridiculous, I have never seen it even half full. At least it isn't as bad as that abomination at Kingshighway and Chippewa, the people who built that should be put in jail for building that monstrocity at such a great intersection. At least this is just along the highway.



By the way, does anyone know what is going in attatched to the Schnucks? I know the first space to the north is OfficeMax, but what about the corner?

kustramo wrote:
By the way, does anyone know what is going in attatched to the Schnucks? I know the first space to the north is OfficeMax, but what about the corner?

Panera

stlmark wrote:

kustramo wrote:
By the way, does anyone know what is going in attatched to the Schnucks? I know the first space to the north is OfficeMax, but what about the corner?

Panera

What's Panera? Never heard of it.



Seriously though, a few weeks ago I was coming out of lunch at the downtown Bread Co. Four businesspeople in suits with rolling suitcases and garment bags were standing in front of the door looking all confused. Being the dork I am I asked if they needed any help.



They looked at each other and one guy asked "We're from out of town and looking for lunch; is this a ripoff of Panera Bread?"



I laughed and said "No, Panera Bread started in St. Louis and the headquarters are here. When they went national they changed names outside St. Louis. Same exact menu."



They thanked me and went inside to eat.

Ya know Bread Co. is fine and all but its not as great as everyone claims it to be and its not as great as it used to be either. I ate there the other day and was pretty grossed out by the crunchy croissant I ate (which I thought was supposed to be soft) and the basically tomato sandwich with a slice of roast beef. I wish a small operator would be able to afford spaces like this, although even if one would it would close anyway because most people in this city prefer mediocre chains to actual quality. Its why you can't get a seat at a Cheesecake Factory any time of the day but more and more small places close up. And don't get me started on Qdoba.

kustramo wrote:And don't get me started on Qdoba.

Ick. I had Qdoba for the first time shortly before moving out of St. Louis (it wasn't my choice...I was with a group of people). Then, I moved to the Mission in San Francisco (where that style of burrito originated). Qdoba doesn't compare to even some of the worse taquerias in my neighborhood. It's too bad I never got a chance to try one of the taquerias on Cherokee. I'll have to do it next time I visit just for the sake of comparison.

I just drove by Loughborough Commons this morning and noticed that Starbucks opened today.

^ Well, it's one more choice for those of us that do like coffee.

Tonystl wrote:

ThreeOneFour wrote:^ Well, it's one more choice for those of us that do like coffee.

It just seems kinda expensive

I don't really get this (though I hear it expressed quite often) - at least for those of us who are addicted :hyper: - it's another $0.50 more than some places, but the same as most (Bread Co., Soulard Coffee Garden, Coffee Cartel, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.).

Grover wrote:I don't really get this (though I hear it expressed quite often) - at least for those of us who are addicted :hyper: - it's another $0.50 more than some places, but the same as most (Bread Co., Soulard Coffee Garden, Coffee Cartel, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.).

And I'm always willing to pay a little more for something that's worth it, although I must confess I am also addicted to coffee.



If I like something well enough, I'll pay a premium. It's the same reason why I'd always choose Budweiser Select over Busch or Natural Light, or the reason why I prefer a microbrew like Schlafly or Boulevard, or an imported beer like Peroni or Stella Artois every now and then.



Starbucks is a little more expensive and perhaps a bit more bland than local counterparts, which I generally prefer to patronize, but you can't deny Starbucks' convenience factor. And I sure don't mind having one mere blocks from where I live.

^ I'm not sure, but I'd guess another strip center like the one that's home to Qdoba and Starbucks or some freestanding restaurants might be part of the plan.